church of Christ at 26th and Connecticut
Joplin, Missouri

Phone
417-781-2326

1819 E 26th
Jopin, MO  64804

   Worship Schedule

Sunday
    Bible Class              9 am
    Morning Worship    10 am
    Evening Worship      6 pm

Wednesday
     Devotional & Class   7 pm

Upcoming Activities

IS IT GOSPEL? (Part 2)

Review

Last week, we noted that the two oldest Greek manuscripts available do not include Mark 16:9-20, leading some critics to believe that these verses are not truly Scripture.  These two Greek manuscripts date back to the fourth century.  We do not have the original copy of Mark (or any other book in the Bible for that matter).

Irenaeus

However, Mark 16:9-20 is older than those manuscripts from the fourth century.  In the second century, in about 180 AD, a man named Irenaeus wrote: “Mark, in the end of his gospel, says: ‘And the Lord Jesus, after that he had spoken to them, was received up in heaven, and sat at the right hand of God.’”  And that, my friends, is a quotation of Mark 16:19.  This implies that Irenaeus, in the second century, had a copy of Mark that included Mark 16:9-20.

The Woman Caught in Adultery

Another lengthy passage in the Gospel where you’re likely to find a note like that on Mark 16:9-20 is John 7:53-8:11 (where we find the story of the woman caught in adultery that Jesus would not stone).  For example, the New Century Version has this heading above those verses: “Some of the earliest surviving Greek copies do not contain 7:53-8:11.”  Likewise, a footnote in the New Revised Standard Version says, “The most ancient authorities lack 7:53-8:11; other authorities add the passage here or after 7:36 or after 21:25 or after Luke 21:38, with variations of text; some mark the passage as doubtful.”

So is John 7:53-8:11 Gospel?